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HOME | WORLD CUP 99 | MATCH REPORTS | ENGLAND vs SRI LANKA, LORD'S, 14 MAY, 1999

England upset holders Lanka in World Cup inaugural

Prem Panicker

The overcast conditions at Lord's on the morning of May 14 meant that the toss was going to have a big role to play in deciding the outcome.

Not too many punters would have backed England captain Alec Stewart -- who in recent times has shown a marked inability to figure out which side of the coin is heads and which is tails -- to call right, but call right he did.

From then on, England got everything right, bowling a tight line and length, using the rather weak Austin at the start before the batsmen had found their feet, and holding all their catches in the field.

Lanka, which went in depending heavily on experience, were let down by their seasoned campaigners, the top order showing an indecent hurry to get back into the hut. The game was won and lost in the first 25 overs, and this is how it all happened.

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